Hundred-Year-Old Chicken (Turkey) a la King Recipe

Recently a serendipitous event occurred. I saw a recipe for Chicken a la King in hundred-year-old magazine, and a left-over chicken breast languished in my refrigerator.

My mother and grandmothers often made Chicken (or Turkey) a la King to use left-over poultry – and I suddenly craved this old-time comfort food. The recipe did not disappoint. This delightful dish was both tasty and easy to make. The diced meat was embedded in a lovely thick and creamy sauce that contained mushrooms and green pepper. It is perfect when served over toast, biscuits, rice or pasta.

Combine the half and half, chicken broth, lemon juice, and egg yolks in a mixing bowl; set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet, then stir in mushrooms, green pepper, and onions. Using medium heat, cook until the vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes) while stirring occasionally; then stir in the diced chicken. Stir in the flour, salt, paprika and pepper. While stirring constantly, slowly pour in the combined liquids that previously had been set aside and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat. May be served over toast, biscuits, rice, or pasta.

70 thoughts on “Hundred-Year-Old Chicken (Turkey) a la King Recipe”

Oh yum!! I grew up eating this .. I’m still very fond of it! At home though Mom cooked the chicken then made this to stretch the meat. She would serve it with toast or egg noodles, my favorite was toast. Great to know it has a fancy name.😄

It’s definitely an old-time comfort food. I’ve made this dish many times over the years using a slightly different recipe. It was fun to see a really old version of the recipe in the hundred-year-old magazine.

This is such a good dish, I’m sorry I’ve already had supper — and don’t have any leftover chicken. It’s so good that it’s worth getting a couple of breasts and getting after it. I predict it will be on the table before Friday!

My school served this regularly over bread, not toast, and because it was school food I didn’t like it. My mom served it over rice, weirdly. I think I would have liked her version served over bread best!

You definitely could omit the egg yolks – just use a little extra flour. In this recipe the primary purpose of the egg yolks is to help thicken the sauce. Over the years I’ve made other versions of this recipe (that were more modern) that didn’t call for the egg yolks and they tasted just fine.

Oh gosh Sheryl, I have made a version of this so often. I did not remember the fancy a la King name. A great way to use up the leftovers. Only problem if you really love a particular version, it is never to be seen or tasted in the same way again.
Sheila

You didn’t know what fancy food your were eating. 🙂 Recipes like this are flexible – and easily adjustable based upon ingredient availability and amounts – and they do end up with some versions being particularly tasty. I tend to think that this is part of the art of cooking. We’re not going for the standarization (“McDonaldization”) of food, but rather appreciating the variation.

My mom also served this dish over toast. Tonight I made your recipe and served it over freshly baked buttermilk biscuits, using up leftover turkey and buttermilk that I had in the freezer. Also added leftover cooked green peas. Recipe is not difficult to make and it turned out great.

mmm. . . your interpretation of this recipe sounds absolutely wonderful. Thanks for taking a few moments to let me know that you made the recipe. I always enjoy hearing about others experiences with recipes I’ve posted – and I know that other readers find it really useful to read comments and suggestions from individuals who have made the recipes.